For Immediate Release: Friday, October 25, 2002
Kaiser Elected National President of
Blind Schools’ Council
PIERRE
– The superintendent of the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
has been elected president of a national organization representing schools for the blind.
Marjorie
Kaiser will lead the Council of Schools for the Blind (COSB) over the next two years. The
council is a consortium of specialized schools in the U.S. and Canada whose goal is to
improve the quality of services to children who are blind and visually impaired.
Kaiser
just completed two terms on the COSB board of directors and was elected president earlier
this month at the group’s meeting in Louisville, Ky.
“Dr.
Kaiser’s election to this national post recognizes her outstanding work in the field
and her strong advocacy for quality educational programs serving the blind and visually
impaired community,” said Robert T. Tad Perry, executive director of the South Dakota
Board of Regents. “This is a real honor not only for Dr. Kaiser and South Dakota, but
for her staff and students as well.” The Board of Regents is the governing board for
the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, located in Aberdeen.
“I
am very pleased to have this opportunity,” Kaiser said. “The council works
closely with higher education programs that train teachers working in the visual
impairment field. In addition, it works hand in hand with professional organizations and
advocacy groups, including the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the
Blind and Visually Impaired, the American Foundation for the Blind, and the National
Agenda Committee.”
Kaiser
earned her specialist and doctoral degrees in educational administration from the
University of South Dakota. She also holds degrees from Northern State University and St.
Cloud State University. Since 1986, she has served as superintendent of the School for the
Blind and Visually Impaired, and was a staff member and coordinator in the school’s
Deaf-Blind Program from 1975 to 1985.
In
Aberdeen, she serves on the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities and the
Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce’s government affairs committee. This fall, she was
named “Worker of the Year” by the Dakota Chapter of the Association for the
Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
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